Of Manholes and Roadpaint
by ErinSteine
Summary: Modern AU. Ai loves her job, she does. It's getting there that's the hard part. She's not sure how the policeman she keeps bumping into tolerates her, but it's a welcome face in the throng of traffic. A series of interconnected one-shots, of a sort.
1. Chapter 1

The map had to be outdated. Had to be. She didn't remember a McDonalds near the nursery! ...Maybe!?

"Ai," Kei-senpai told her, in that long-suffering voice coated in both amusement and fondness, "You're looking at Google maps. Google."

"They can still be wrong," Ai insisted, feebly, because she was fooling no one and especially not herself, "You shouldn't believe everything you read on the internet, right?"

Their ever-wise professor had bestowed them that fact while pulling up a powerpoint that was clearly copied from Wikipedia word for word. Ai shoved red hair away from her eyes to look at the screen better.

Deciding that didn't deserve a response, Kei-senpai merely got on her motorcycle, rolling her shoulders before gripping at the sidebars, "See you, Monday. Don't get lost on the way to the nursery," she grinned, and Ai could have given back a convincing huff had been able to wipe the grin off her face.

Kei waved goodbye with a smile, and drove off.

Leaving Ai alone, defenseless, against the almighty Google maps, and its twisted roads and tiny signs. Ai squinted and zoomed in on her phone to –

Oh god, she was never gonna get there. She was clearly also going to get eye strain from squinting at her phone so much, why did they make the text so tiny.

"…Akagawa?"

Ai looked up to see white hair, pale skin, and the single mostly reserved, somewhat amused, kind of stoic eye of her friend.

"Oh, Shirogane," Ai looked up, smile widening at the sight of his all white uniform, his squad car. The same one she was far too familiar with already, "Don't mind me, I'm just. Uh."

She looked down at her phone so she wouldn't have to look at his face, which never gave away anything but she could never face for too long when she needed directions again.

How many times had she bumped into him, hopelessly lost, and having to resign herself into hitching a ride in the squad car just to get to work? Too many times, that's how many times!

It was time to stop. It was time to do this one herself!

"…Just pausing for a bit!" she said, clenching a fist and giving him a bright smile as she pumped it in the air, "See you around!"

And then she turned on her heel and ran.

Ran straight into an open manhole, because clearly running while looking at your phone was the best idea ever way to go Ai.

She clung to the topmost rung, and that gave her the perfect view of Shirogane running towards her.

They looked at each other.

"…Don't worry, I need to drive to the station anyway," he said, as he helped pull her out.

Ai worked at the nursery near the station. Ai shook her head. Ai was an idiot through and through and said, "I'll be okay! Go on ahead!"

Or so she would have, had she not taken one look at the time and knew she didn't have the minutes to spare.

She hung her head, "…Thank you so much, Shirogane-san."

He put a hand on her shoulder, opening the passenger's seat car door for her, "I'm sure you'll get the hang of it one day."

She's been in the city for over three months now. Ai bit back a groan and climbed into the car.

* * *

NOTES: Ah, yes, Erin finally hauling ass and transferring OMAR over here. I got the first names of Ai and Yuichi from reddit, while literally everything else is mine, surname, meanings, and all.

For context, just in case:

Ai Akagawa as AE3803

Yuichi Shirogane as U-1146


	2. Chapter 2

"You're going to work part-time?" Keiko-san gaped at her, and Ai tugged at that one, errant hair that always stuck out no matter how much gel she put on it, "Are you sure? I mean, you can probably handle it, but…"

Well, turning to their shared dorm room, Ai grimaced at the presenting piles of home-and-classwork to do, stacked paper-tower next to paper-tower on their desks. A side-glance made from the corner of her eye told her Keiko-san was doing the same thing.

But well, "I have to," Ai told her tiredly, almost resigned, her shoulders slumping just so, "I can cover the tuition _now,_ but everything else is…iffy." Her eyes burned at a spot on the floor, rubbing her hands together.

Keiko-san rubbed at the side of her neck, "Well…I get that. Same thing happened to me when I was a sophomore, honestly."

Ai clasped her hands together and bowed at the waist, "Then, please cover for me today, senpai! I promise it'll only take me one day to find a part-time job!"

The pawn shop across the street to the backgates of the university had some openings she'd seen that morning! She could probably do pawn shop…stuff. Maybe. It was basically retail, wasn't it…?

But when Ai looked up, she saw Keiko-san waving a hand at her, an easy smile on her face, "It's fine, it's fine."

"So you'll cover for me?" Ai stood straight, grin stretching across her face as she bounced a little on her toes.

Keiko-san snorted, whipping her phone out, "I'll do you one better," after a second or two of typing, she gave Ai her phone. Who took one look, before gasping.

Keiko-san chuckled, "I've seen you with the elementary kids, you know. And my friend doesn't really want to go through the hassle of interviewing strangers."

It was an offer. A job offer. One for a nursery on the other side of town, sure, but it was something she actually _liked_ to do, something that paid well enough and would probably feed her something other than instant ramen for once!

Ai felt tears spring to her eyes, " _Thank you, senpai!_ "

Keiko-senpai, because she deserved that upgrade and Ai was kind of uncomfortable calling her Keiko-san anyways, rolled her eyes. Good-naturedly, Ai knew.

"This isn't a sure thing, though."

"I know," Ai nodded, resolute, "But still! I'll call them now, even! Maybe I can even schedule an interview on a free day!"

"Now that's just pushing your luck."

* * *

The call went well enough. Shiori Nakamura, who had stopped Ai's embarrassing rambling at the end of their call with a "Please call me Shiori-san!", also worked with her on a schedule for their interview. Ai had worn her lucky red beret, lined with a shiny black metallic cap and it worked! She got an interview!

On a _free day._

 _Luck was real._

Luck had also chosen to run from her by the time that free day had come, so Ai's conclusion as that luck was real, and quite the fickle guy.

The almighty Google maps, bestowed to her from the internet and Keiko-senpai, was of…some help. She recognized…some words.

And then the map was rotated. Again. Her hat was failing her here, a little.

 _She was never gonna get there._

As Ai groaned, slumping, she had a thought: quitters never got anywhere and if she did that now then it would be all for nothing.

And sure, she could call Shiori-san and ask for directions – again – but that wouldn't be good for her image. Not if she wanted that job. Which she did.

Keiko-san was at her own part-time job, on another side of town opposite hers, and well—

Simply put, she was screwed.

But! That didn't mean she couldn't try her best to get there!

"…Where're the labels?" Ai muttered to herself, trying to will her phone's internet to work faster through her eyes alone. She failed, obviously. And staring at the white blocks and grey streets was giving her nothing.

She looked up from her phone.

Well, crap.

Somehow, someway, she'd just encircled her entire block and was…right at the back of the university again.

And because luck was real, fickle, and was _probably nursing some kind of grudge_ against Ai, a scream broke behind her. She jumped, nearly dropping her phone.

"Wha-?!"

A single, resounding gunshot filled the air. Ai felt her entire world hone in on the sign she had seen just that morning, now splattered with blood. The door was hanging open, giving her a view of the old man raising his arms towards the sky.

The pawn shop across the street was broken into.

The beautiful display windows was shattered, glass splaying across the pavement. The light inside was dim, but enough to give Ai a full view of the old man running the shop under gun point. Customers, running out. A teenage boy stumbling away, a hand pressed against his side, quickly staining his plain white shirt red.

Something cold went down her arms, freezing her limbs, seizing her brain until her thoughts became nothing more than –

"Call 110. Call 110. Run. _Run_."

She punched in the numbers. Called the hotline. Whispered back the address. She was told that a patrol was in the area and help would arrive soon.

The teenager fell to his knees. The burglar was shouting menace at the owner. Help would arrive soon.

Soon was not faster than the bullet of a gun.

Run. _Run._

And she did.

Towards the teenager – god, he looked so young – taking him by the arms and dragging him to his feet. She saw his eyes widen, but she pulled him over to the bushes near the old guardpost before he could get some much as a word of protest in.

She checked back to see if a tail of blood was left but honestly. There wasn't much else left to hide. She couldn't run, not without the teenager and she couldn't lift him.

Where was help?

And the teenager was starting to look pale. How much blood had he lost? Too much, too much. Ai had nothing on her to help stop the bleeding. She wished she could have taken her jacket with her. She had _nothing…_ but her hat.

Ai tore it off her head and pressed it at the teenager's side, eliciting a wince from him under his messy sandy brown hair.

"It's okay," she soothed, even as she heard glass breaking, echoing off the pavement from the silence of the streets, "The police are coming, I promise."

They were, she had faith in them. But soon seems so slow compared to the staccato racing her her heart, of the blood rushing to her ears.

The teenager looked at her with pity, clear amongst the pain.

Full silence descended. Ai's heart raced until it was all she could feel, there hadn't been a gunshot. There hadn't been a gunshot. Did that mean the old man was safe? But it was getting closer and closer.

Were they safe?

She locked eyes with the teenager, whose small hands grasped at her hat. He opened his mouth—

And was cut off by the sound of sirens.

" _Freeze!_ " it was loud, it was commanding, and it was _help._ Ai nearly collapse in relief, the teenager looked gobsmacked, and she gave him a wobbling smile. They could both hear the commotion, of the burglar taken down in a tackle, of handcuffs and the old man thanking the officers.

"I promised, didn't I?" and then she stood, raised her hand, stained in blood, and said, "Excuse me, we need an ambulance—"

* * *

Keiko Yoshida as AA 5100

NOTES: Honestly I'm gonna update one chapter a day here until you guys get caught up. If you don't wanna wait, I have this completely updated over at Ao3!


	3. Chapter 3

Ai watched as the medics laid the teenager flat on the stretcher, her hat cast to the side of his head. She almost couldn't believe it – she couldn't even see the stain.

The teenager laid there, eyes glazed over under half-closed lids. Sweat had some of his hair sticking to the sides of his face, curling around his cheeks, the outer shell of his ears. It almost accentuated the deep creases in his face, the way he shivered ever so slightly. She slowly walked up to him, held her hand up, and she noticed how his blood had dried, a dark reddish brown in those gaps on either side of her nails.

"Is he going to be alright?" she asked one for the medics, hand still hovering near the teenager's head. One of the other medics merely looked up before looking back down to whatever he was doing– something that was helping, Ai was sure, because the faint furrow between the teenager's brows was slowly leaving. She let her hand fall back to her side.

"He'll be fine. That hat of yours managed to stem most of the bleeding," the medic beside Ai said, "More importantly, are you?"

"What?" Ai blinked, then looked down and saw that yes, the medic was looking at her hands, at the bloodstains on her shorts, her shirt. She smiled, small and close-lipped, "Oh, no, this isn't mine. I'm not injured."

The medics looked at each other in silence, before nodding, and on some unspoken signal, they hefted the stretcher upwards and into the back of the ambulance.

Ai stood at the outside while they both climbed in. One of the medics paused before closing the doors, and Ai took the chance, "Um, I'm not sure if I'll get to see him again, so," she paused, looking once into the ambulance, at her red beret and how normal it so looked despite it maybe being instrumental to saving someone.

"Tell him he can keep it, "she grinned, "It's lucky."

Ai liked to believe that the crease on the sides of the medic's mouth – covered under a mask – indicated a smile. He nodded, then closed the door.

Ai watched the ambulance drive away, scratching at her hair. It felt a little weird, almost exposed not to be wearing her hat after all this time.

Oh well.

* * *

While Ai's knowledge of crime and law came mostly from CSI and The Wire, among other cop shows, even she knew that the paperwork required to do _anything_ would make this visit to the station a very _lengthy_ one.

Ai almost groaned aloud in despair, because, well, _crap_. There went her job for the nursery. It was going to be a loaf-and-jam-only week again. Maybe if she added in a pack of instant noodles she'd be able to _not_ starve…

"Something wrong?" the officer driving her asked, and though he was still looking forward, he did glance her way once.

"…I missed my interview," she admitted, because she didn't think lying to a policeman was a smart thing to do and also because that little ball of frustrated energy settling on the pit of her stomach was clawing at her, making her hands clench into her shorts, "I just couldn't find it – the, the interview place, it's a nursery – I just couldn't _find_ it, I'm terrible with directions. And then the burglar decided to break in, and I called in help and I was going to run but. That teenager. He was right there, he was bleeding and I just…"

She paused, then, looking up and into the officer's eyes, she told him the truth, the only thing quelling her frustration, her anxiety, just barely, "But I don't regret staying behind. Never. I'll do it again if I have to. My real issue is…"

She trailed off, again, finding her words slipping from her grasp. How on earth was she going to manage the week? She was already behind because she had gotten sick earlier in the semester, she simply _couldn't_ miss more classes, and then there was the food issue, god, what was she going to use for supplies and emergencies? She had projects to print, to bookbind, had places she needed to go for her research—

She could hold out a little while longer with what little money she had left in her bank account – good enough to buy food for the next week, _maybe_ – but what about afterwards? What if, even on her next freeday, she _still_ couldn't find a job? Then what?

"…I'm not really sure what to do now," Ai huffed, almost amused, mostly frustrated, tugging at that one errant strand, "I'm sorry, officer, I shouldn't have dumped all of that on you. I, um, I should probably stay quiet now, huh?"

She picked at the blood drying under her nails, trying to scrape them off. It only smudged red into her skin. Ai remembered the teenager's face, her hat, and almost smiled to herself. At least he was safe.

"You're not from here are you?" he asked, instead, and Ai paused from her fidgeting, turning her head to face him, brows furrowing just a bit.

"No…?"

He nodded, almost to himself, "Then I should tell you now: there's only three nurseries in the city that are big enough to hire employees. Two of them are already fully employed."

"Er…?" Ai wasn't sure where he was going with this.

He continued, " That leaves just one, the nursery run by Nakamura-san."

Ai damn near hit her head on the roof of the car with how surprised she was, "You know Nakam-, uh, er, Shiori-san?!"

The officer nodded, "She's a very understanding person. And given that she let you call her by her given name I'm sure she'll give you another chance, especially if you explain the situation."

"I-Is that so…"Ai's breath left her, relief causing her shoulders to slump, and happiness letting her break out a wide grin, the kind that crinkled her eyes, her hand brushing her hair away from her eyes. She laughed, breathlessly, and even through all that she could see the small, nearly miniscule smile on the officer's lips.

* * *

"Oh, we're there?"

"Yeah," he answered, circling around to open the car door for her. Ai thanked him, climbing out. The other squad cars had gone ahead of them since they were the ones carrying the burglar, another having the old man and another witness Ai hadn't seen during the duration of the break in, probably an employee of the pawnshop. They could both see the cars, and Ai made a move towards the station when the officer stopped her with a hand on her shoulder, making Ai turn towards him.

"What is it?" she asked, and the only answer she got was a silent gesture. She blinked. What was that one supposed to mean?

"Oh, Ai-san?"

Ai's eyes widened, still looking at the officer, who merely smiled in response. Gaping, she turned to see—

"Sh-Shiori-san!"

The woman who greeted Ai was a woman whose presence seemed to engulf her surroundings, the kind that demanded respect, somewhere in her middle-ages, and yet somehow managed to convey youth through every well-cared-for pore. Shiori wore an elegant floor-length dress, a jacket thrown over her shoulders and…boots.?

The sharp click of combat boots on the pavement brought a sort of incongruous rhythm to the overall picture, not that it stopped Ai from gaping at her in sheer awe, (and the office probably chuckling at her expression, maybe, Ai couldn't see his face but she wouldn't blame him if he was), "So you're safe," the smile on the woman's face was warm, and Ai couldn't help but bow at the waist in the face of her.

"Y-Yes! I'm sorry I couldn't make it to the interview, um, I can explain! You see—"

"There's no need," Shiori smoothly interrupted, smiling kindly, "I know the situation was out of your hands. I hope you'll still come for the interview?"

"Yes! I mean, yes – er – thank you!"

"After we deal what needs to be done at the station," the officer interjected, and Ai was reminded that she was here for different reasons.

She bowed again to Shiori, "I'll come as soon as I can!"

Shiori smiled, placing a hand on her cheek, "I know you will. Best of luck, both of you."

As Ai and the officer walked to the station, she looked up at him, "Hey…how did Shiori-san know we were here?"

The one eye he bothered to show didn't so much as bat an eyelash, but she did see his lips twitch in a ghost of an expression.

"I suggest you look back."

Ai blinked, then did exactly that. It took her a few seconds to identify the nursery's sign across the street, surrounded by as many buildings as it was, but when she did Ai couldn't help but gape.

"Come on," the officer said, tugging at his cap, and Ai could have _sworn_ that was amusement in his voice, "The sooner we finish the report the sooner you can go over."

* * *

Ai was dead. Ai was dead and dying and also too broke to get any food when she hadn't eaten since that afternoon.

One look at the sky told her it was _late._

So late that…Ai wasn't sure if there were any buses left running. Then again, this was a city so maybe 27/7 buses were a thing?

Oh god, could she even afford the bus right now?

In the middle of some complex math, Ai looked up from her bloodless fingers (mostly because the officers over at the station let her wash up first before the whole report thing) to see…

"Oh, officer…-san?"

He nodded. Ai noticed that he was walking over towards the parking lot at the end of the block, instead of the one behind or in front of the station, "Oh, are you going home?"

He nodded again, and Ai smiled brightly up at him, "Before you go, I just wanted to say thank you."

"No need, I was just doing my job," he replied, but she could see him tug at his cap, and continued with, "…you're welcome."

Ai tucked a few strands of her red hair behind her ears, "For doing your job...and for hearing me out, and comforting me. During the car ride."

"…You're welcome," it came in a softer voice, not so much as bashful as it was…quietly earnest? Something among those lines.

She hummed happily, "Have a safe trip."

"You too," in that same voice, and Ai had to look at the side, smile still firmly in place, her hands resting on her chest.

"…Wait," he said suddenly, his voice settling back into the deeper, calmer voice he used earlier that day, "Why haven't you gone back yet?"

"…Oh that," Ai chuckled nervously, "I'm, um, trying to figure out the bus schedule…"

"…You don't know how to get back, do you."

Ai placed her now-burning face into her palms in order to dodge humiliation, "I'm sorry."

A huff. Ai wasn't sure if it was amusement or annoyance, "I'll drive you there."

"Eh?!" but oh, he was already walking down the block, and Ai had to jog to catch up to him. After spending several seconds gaping at his back, that is, "No, it's okay! Really! I can figure it out!"

"Making sure citizens are safe is part of my job," he intoned.

"But…I mean…"

They reached his car, it was a model Ai couldn't really identify, she was more of a motorcycle girl. It was black, and kinda shiny, parked near a vending machine. He glanced at it, and because eh was politely ignoring the various noises Ai's stomach was making, he merely offered an, "Can I get you something to drink?" before getting tea for both of them.

The drive to the university was quieter than the one to the station, filled mostly with idle sipping and companionable silence. By the time they pulled up to the gates of the university, Ai climbed out of the car with an empty can. She paused at the door, still holding it open.

"Can I ask you something?"

He blinked.

"Will I see you again?"

She couldn't identitfy that expression, the way he tugged his cap down low over his eyes, "Well…," he started, "We do work in the same city, in the same block even. I'll say that's pretty likely."

"Okay," she grinned, "Then, next time, can I ask for your name?"

He almost looked taken aback, before his entire expression softened in a way she never saw before, "Of course."

* * *

"WHERE WERE YOU ARE THOSE BLOODSTAINS AI WHAT HAPPENED—"


	4. Chapter 4

The nursery had only a single story, more because of stairs being a potential hazard around tiny waddling people and less due to expense. Which also meant that it stretched across the plot, the only one made more of grass than asphalt in the city. Out in the back, there was a walled in area for outdoor playgrounds, up to and including a swing set, a sandbox and several high-end cameras connected to Shiori-san's office, surveying the entire area, 24/7, all year-round.

Her schedule for her training had been overwhelming at first, yes. Learning how to navigate the building, the uses of each and every piece of equipment they had, learning all the areas until she could walk from one to the next without thinking, and most of all, the standard protocol for all children concerning safety and abduction.

It was…enlightening. And paranoia-inducing, yes, but Ai felt this one was pretty justified.

All that in between working with Shiori-san about schedules, homework, group projects and university woes.

In the end, Ai was slated to go work during the mornings, class during the afternoons stretching into the nights, and hibernation during Sunday where there weren't a lot of drop-offs happening.

Two weeks at the nursery had gotten Ai a bit more used to her new life. Sure, Keiko had to constantly drop her off because apparently she couldn't trusted to travel more than 500 meters on her own, but the job itself wasn't the most difficult of things to manage. It was, in its own way, kind of fun. A great way to start the crisp mornings.

But today it was hot.

No, it was _sweltering._

Ai was fairly sure she was losing brain cells to evaporation as she walked from the side of the street towards the nursery's front doors.

"Ai-chan," Shiori-san called at her from across the field with a broom in hand, prompting Ai to look up from where she was trudging along the path, "Your charges are here, better hurry!"

Ai's entire being lit up. She rushed to the doors, pulling them open, the rush of air-conditioned temperature rejuvenating her. But, more importantly, were the two children sitting by the Lego area, building another skyscraper with technicolor blocks.

The receptionist looked at her with amusement, taking her bag – which Ai usually took with her so she wouldn't have to circle back to her dorm after work before class – and let Ai quietly try to sneak up on two unsuspecting children.

The other caretakers knew the routine by now, and led the other children stifling their giggles away from the scene.

Ai could see Etsuko start to lift her head up, long brown hair strewn about her head. Shizuka, with his short-clean cropped brown hair stuffed under a cap sat beside her, and blinked at his friend. Ai's window was closing . She had to strike while the iron was hot.

Ai immediately knelt behind her charge, and gently placed her hands over Etsuko's eyes, calling, "Who is it?"

Higura placed both of her hands over his mouth, niggling, tiny shoulders shaking.

Etsuko, who probably already knew based on Ai's voice, pet both of Ai's hands with her own, "Mmmm," she hummed in contemplation, "Mama?"

"No~pe!" Ai popped the 'p', making Higura go into another fit of giggles. Hee waddled over, petting two tiny hands over Esuko's own, laid flat against Ai's.

Etsuko hummed again, "Higu, help?"

"Nuh uh," Higura replied, grinning up at Ai with a face full of braces, "Guess, guess!"

"Mmmm," Etsuko hummed again,"Is it...nee-chan?"

"Right!" Ai released her charge with a cheer. Etsuko whirled around to give Ai a bright grin, hands reaching upwards. Higura followed suit, and Ai wrapped her arms over both of her charges.

"Good morning!" they greeted, then scrambled over to their construction site, presenting it with fanning hands.

"Nee-chan, we made a skyscraper!"

"I did the lower part, Etsu did the upper part—"

Ai did her best to look amazed – not that it was hard, since her charges were quite talented, even if she did so say herself.

"That looks _amazing_ ," she gushed to them, and the girls' eyes brightened, "Good job, both of you!"

And so the day passed like it did the first time Ai had gotten her charges – supervised playing over at the play area, some snacks during midmorning recess, reading to them whichever book they requested (though the kids had placed dibs on Annie the Builder since they first got there) and whatever outdoor activities Shiori-san planned for the children.

Which was cut short due to the heat, and as Ai ushered the kids back inside, she noticed the film of sweat covering the girls' brows. They plopped down on the bench settled beside the door leading to the backyard, legs swinging back and forth. Ai rummaged around her pockets for the tissue pack she had gotten into the habit of carrying everywhere, then crouched down to wipe at the girl's faces.

That done, and leaving the kids to chat between them in relative privacy, Ai took out her phone. Ai, being the assigned caretaker for the two kids, had the numbers of both sets of parents, and were tasked to contact either in case of an emergency, or if there was a question that needed to be answered.

Like right now.

Ai texted them, "Would it be alright for Etsuko/Higura to get ice cream? Or would it ruin their appetite too much?"

Both parental sets told her to go for it, and Ai tucked her phone back into her pocket. She turned to her charges, with a smile, "Let's go get your hats, yeah?"

"Why?" Etsuko asked, hand in hand with Ai on her right, with Higura on the left.

Ai only grinned, "You'll see."

* * *

Chocolate was the standard affair, which Ai was a little sick of, but bought anyway because the kids' twin puppy eyes always worked. Personally she was more of a fan of strawberry, which her charges generously let her have a single scoop of in the sundae.

A single sundae, because feeding either child a full cone each seemed like a bad idea, split between the three of them. It was a good thing the ice cream parlor was literally next door, otherwise she wouldn't have been allowed to take them out of the nursery. That, and the fact that the owner was a trusted friend of Shiori's, and so presented minimal risk.

Ai took the kids and seated them at the only open booth at the far end of the parlor, sitting at the open aisle while her charges sat further in the booth. It was part of the standard protocol, with the caretaker presenting as a shield between the children and possible abduction.

The parlor was busy, which, yeah expected, and Ai was only paying half-attention to the kids' conversation, most of her neural activity was dedicated to eyeing every person nearing them. God knew how many strangers had the habit of coming up to the girls to try and pet them without their permission. It had made Higura cry from sheer discomfort more than once and Ai was not about to stand for it, not when they were _her_ charges _and_ their previous caretaker _had_.

(She wouldn't learn until later that this was the exact reason Keiko had referred Ai to Shiori for the job.)

Ai ate with the girls, ordering a few glasses of light iced tea from her own pockets. As the kids finished their part of the sundae, the door opened.

Ai looked up, an spotted white. All white. her heart started to race. Two of them, one of them her nameless officer and his partner (?), making a beeline for the counter. Were they on break? They had to be, she didn't think officers were allowed to just go and get ice cream while on duty.

Truth be told, she didn't have much of a chance to talk to the officer from the weeks before, both of them being far too busy and their schedules hardly letting them see each other. The most they could do, whenever they saw each other across the street, was a friendly wave.

Which..apparently attracted interested stares from his colleagues, but since the officer seemed to brush them off easily, she supposed it wasn't a problem.

Except that interested stare was now being directed at her, from across the room, from the officer she usually saw with her….friend? Could they even be called friends?

While contemplating this, the officer had crossed the parlor with a single cone of vanilla ice cream in hand and stopped by their table. Despite herself, Ai tensed just the slightest bit so due to the sudden proximity.

"Oh, sorry," he backed up a bit, then grinned at them from under a white cap, his perfectly white hair – could he and her nameless officer be related? – perfectly parted at the middle in a messy fringe, "Can I sit down with you?"

Seeing that the parlor was both full, she knew the man's face and was aware that he was with her officer a lot, Ai looked over to the children. Had she been by herself, she wouldn't have minded. But if her charges showed any sign of discomfort, she'd have to turn him away.

Higura looked up and beamed, "Ha-san!"

Etsuko merely waved enthusiastically, one spoonful of ice cream still in her mouth.

Oh.

Well, then.

Ai turned back to the officer and waved him towards the seats across from them in the booth. He sat down with a plop, "Hey! Sorry I haven't been around lately. I've been busy beating back bad guys."

"We know," Etsuko replied, nodding, her voice grave and her face spattered with chocolate ice cream. Ai had to pull out her pack of tissues again.

While she set to work on Etsuko, Higura piped up, "Story-time, Ha-san?"

"'Ha-san?'" Ai quoted under her breath, peeking over to the office under her lashes. He was grinning at Higura, but he caught her gaze.

Tugging at his hat, he replied, "Haruki Satou, at your service! I think you know my partner? He was the one who drove you to the station some weeks ago. You know, Sh—"

"Wait!" Ai stood up, screeching, making every eye in the parlor swing towards her. She could feel the blood rushing to her head, and with that, came out the torrent of half-intelligible statements, somewhere among the lines of:

"I want to ask for myself, please!" and "We made a half, sorta, kinda, promise last time and I don't think it's a good idea to back out on it?!" and "I'm so sorry for yelling!"

The silence immediately following the outburst was, well.

"…It's good to see you again."

The nameless officer, holding a cup of cold tea that the parlor liked to serve on weekdays.

Oh no. Oh god, no.

"May I also sit down with you?"

 _Mortifying_.

Ai plopped back down on her seat, faint, half-dead and probably drowning in her own blood as she did so, because clearly her head was going to explode soon from sheer humiliation. She let him sit with a gesture, at which point he silently took one directly across from her.

When did he ever get here?! No, moreover, why was she such an idiot?!

"Nee-chan?"

"Eh, is something wrong with nee-chan, Etsu?"

"Sh-She's fine! I think. Don't worry!" inwardly, Ai thanked Satou's valiant efforts at allaying the girls' worries, because she was clearly not in the position to perform any type of cognitive function at the current.

She let her face fall into her hands.

"…S-so, you're the new employee at Shiori-san's, miss?" Satou inquired, making Ai peek up between her fingers, because he was obviously trying to allay the atmosphere and the effort was sweet.

"Yeah," she murmured, "It's a part-time job, actually. I still go to university."

At Satou's curious hum, she elaborated, "I'm taking up nursing."

Sure, she was still hiding most of her face in her hands, but she could peek between her fingers and completely avoid her nameless officer's eyes.

"Really?" Satou's head tilted to the side, "So, tell me, miss, how are you still…functioning? Most of the nurses-in-training back at our hometown were basically…"

He made a vague gesture, his face scrunching up just a bit into an expression Ai couldn't recognize.

"Zombies?" Ai filled out for him, because it was both true and a daily thing for her to watch. Her fellow nursing students trudging from one class to another half awake with a cup of coffee in hand. It would have been funny if she didn't know exactly how it felt.

" _Caffiends_ living off coffee, but sure."

A _pun._ Could cops even make puns? It was so _lame._

It was _great_.

Despite herself, Ai snorted, "No, no, that's the engineering and architecture students."

"I'm pretty sure those guys _bleed_ coffee by now, not live off it."

Ai chuckled, hands finally lowering from her face, "What was your university like? Erm, both of you."

Ai expected a lot of things, she did not expect Satou to suddenly start laughing and for her nameless officer to half choke on his tea, "W-what?"

"Cadet days!" Satou exclaimed, hands slamming flat on the table, "Partner, you take this up. Tell her about _third year._ "

"Er—"

When her nameless officer gave his partner a flat glare, Ai raised her hands, "It's okay - "

Her nameless officer set his tea down, then smiled at her, "What he really means is that he was an _awful_ bunkmate—"

" _What—_ "

"—and we were stuck together throughout most of our third year, so I usually had to deal with his snoring during the night. Once it had gotten so bad that our friends from the other rooms had barged in—"

"Okay _, wow,_ you can _stop now—_ "

"—and threw a pillow at his face to wake him up. When that didn't work—"

" _This is not according to plan—_ "

"—and he continued sleeping, the prankster among our friends decided to start piling things on top of his face so they'd fall on him and wake him up—"

" _Goddammit Yu—_ "

"—We even put a cat on his face and that _still_ didn't wake him up, so we gave in and all slept in another room."

" _You guys said that the cat broke in!_ "

"Oh. We lied."

Satou gaped, Ai finally broke out laughing and the children giggled. The nameless officer set his cup down, then gave her a small smile, "I'm sorry for sneaking up on you, are you alright now?"

"No, it's okay! That was mostly my fault, anyway," Ai raised her hands, splaying her fingers in front of her, "And…yes. I'm okay now.

Ai slowly lowered her hands, her lips tugging upwards, "Thank you."

Ai could see Satou eyeing his partner from where he sat, his brows slowly lifting into his hairline. She didn't get it.

"How has your job been?" he inquired, and Ai brightened.

"It's great!" she beamed, "It was a little hard at first to balance it with my schedule but Shiori-san and I worked something out in the end! And—"

* * *

Satou tried his damnest to keep the grin off his face, even as he kept an eye out for the kids while their caretaker was momentarily distracted.

One glance at his partner confirmed that the feeling was mutual.

This was gonna be…. _interesting._

* * *

Time ticked on by, and before Ai knew it, it was time to leave. Leading the kids back in hand from a bathroom trip, she stopped by the booth they had occupied earlier.

"It was nice talking to the both of you," Ai said sweetly. The entire thing had only taken up maybe ten minutes, but it had been an enjoyable time.

Satou grinned up at her, and…elbowed his partner, for some reason.

"You as well," the nameless officer said, quietly sipping at his tea once more. His partner gave him a mild glare.

Which…okay, she still didn't know his name, and he did say she could ask for his it, but she just felt like it wasn't the time…? It felt awkward asking for it, now that they were leaving.

"W-well," Ai stammered, but mustered up a grin at the last moment, "See you around!"

As she led the kids back to the nursery, she couldn't help but look back. She missed her chance. It wasn't like this would be the last time they'd ever cross paths again, but…

Still.

"Nee-chan, tissue, please."

Etsuko pointed to her forehead, now coated in a thin film of sweat.

Ai checked her pockets for some tissues, and found that her packet was gone. Guess she left it somewhere.

"Come on, I think Shiori-san has some extras."

* * *

Hours pass, and when the clock strikes 12 she hands the girls over to their parents. They bid her goodbye with a hug and a promise to see each other again, which Ai always gave.

"Promise?" Higura, little Higura who always got attached to his caretakers and devastated when they were taken away, held up his pinky finger.

Ai hooked hers with the child's and shook, "Promise."

And with that, ended another day at the nursery.

"Shiori-san! I'll be leaving now!" Ai called, taking her bag from her issued locker while the receptionist grumbled into his logbook. She'd have maybe a quarter of an hour to get back to the university. If she went by bus and train she'd make it in time for a mad dash to class.

Shiori hummed back a reply from her office, probably busy with the camera feeds. And so Ai went off.

Back into the heat.

Ai slumped, but walked over to the road anyway. A bus taking her to a stop….near the train leading to her university should be here an minute now. Any minute, however, tended to stretch into any hour under that kind of sweltering hell. Ai wilted under the sun. Who gave it permission to come out today, anyway?

The place where she stood did give her a great view of the station across the street, though. As luck would have it,she spotted Satou coming out of the building with his hat off, being used to fan himself. He spotted her and waved, then ran back into the station with an exclamation she couldn't hear.

Two minutes later, her nameless officer came out, being dragged into the light by his partner.

Oh.

Oh god.

After several verbal exchanges, most of which Ai could't hear, she saw her nameless officer look at her.

And started to walk towards her.

Ai's entire brain short-circuited with every step he took, closing the gap between them in a few easy strides.

She looked up, at his half covered face, and found his expression soft.

"…Hello," she greeted warmly.

"We meet again," he replied kindly, then fished something out of his pocket. Oh, so that's where her packet of tissues went, "You forgot some things."

"Thank you," she said, accepting the tissue, holding it against her chest, "Um…what else did I forget?"

She didn't think she left anything else there, and the girls didn't say anything about leaving their things behind. Looking up, she found her nameless officer tugging his cap low, his only visible eye looking elsewhere.

"…Shirogane, Yuichi," he said. Ai felt her entire head go blank. Forgot some things. Some things. Forget to ask for _his name apparently oh god._

So he'd taken it upon himself to give them to her.

It was clearly the heat making her face go as red as it was, _clearly_.

"A-Aka—" Ai cleared her throat shakily, "Akagawa, Ai. It's nice to meet you!"

When he finally, finally looked at her, his eyes were soft.

Ai stared, then broke out into a grin.

"Thank you for your company earlier, Akagawa-san," he murmured, one hand still at the edge of his cap, "See you later."

"O-oh, yes, okay!"

With that, he left with a wave, to the squad car that his partner had pulled out in front of the station and leaving Ai to scramble into the bus with a frazzled mind.


	5. Chapter 5

In each and every godforsaken dorm of their university, there lay a clock on the wall to remind every young adult how time was limited, precious, and relatively insanity-inducing depending on how close your deadline was.

Ai, a young adult in the aforementioned university, found herself performing the nightly ritual all college students across the globe was intimately familiar with.

With her face pressed flat over her half-finished calculus worksheet.

Her hazel eyes, dull and glazed over, looking at a spot in the wall and the res tof her mental capacity basically gone with the wind, she tapped the dull side of her pencil to sound out a rhythm she could only half-remember from a radio station from years gone.

She was taking a break, simply put.

Granted, she had been taking a break for the past half hour because looking at the worksheet tended to push her sanity meter just a few inches lower.

"Ai," the croon came from the other side of the room, where Keiko was doing her own homework – the last of the pile, Ai could see form the corner f her eye – her pencil held in a death grip, "If you don't stop that tapping I'm throwing your goddamn pencil out."

"Please do. Throw out me and this worksheet too, while you're at it," was Ai's elegant reply, half muffled due to her face eating paper.

"You think I have the energy to spare? Please, you're not _that_ special."

Keiko spun on her spinny chair, overshooting the strength needed and ended up facing her desk again. Second time's the charm and Ai found her senpai looking at her with a solemn expression.

Keiko smirked.

Ai grinned.

"How far along are you?" Keiko asked, tapping a single finger on her own desk, where Ai spotted a half-finished essay in English.

"How far along are _you?_ " she volleyed back, finally straightening in her seat.

Keiko laughed outright, "Alright, alright. Want to switch?" she held out her essay.

And here was the moment where Ai threw her scruples out the window and snatched the offered paper, "Yes, _please, thank you—_ "

* * *

A simple essay later – which she had spent maybe 10 minutes on compared to Keiko's quarter hour – and a worksheet exchange – which had taken Keiko maybe 10 minutes compared to Ai's quarter hour – Ai stretched, leaning hard back on her chair. This gave her a good view of the clock situated above her desk, ticking as incessantly and annoyingly as the first day she'd come to the university. It was red, made of plastic, and it showed 9:30 PM on its face.

"Wanna go out for dinner, senpai?" Ai asked, turning in her chair to face Keiko.

Keiko zipped up the last of her pencils into her case and hummed, "Sure."

A hop, skip, and motorcycle ride found Ai squinting up at the sign.

"Senpai…?"

"It's a reputable place, Ai, don't worry about it," Keiko assured her, then taking Ai's wrist to pull her inside. The bar. A classy place, yes, but a bar.

Ai had no problem with alcohol and bars but. The drunk people that were basically staples in bars were the aspects Ai was not looking forward to.

Except stepping into the bar proved her wrong. It was a clean, well-lit place with incense lit in the corner, the actual bar being to the right of the entrance, and the rest of the floor dedicated to tables and seating. It almost reminded Ai of a coffee shop. There were a handful of people loitering about – two men with papers strewn about their table, one of them gesturing wildly about as he regaled his companion with…something or another, Ai couldn't make out the words – and a few customers already on their way out.

"Come on," Keiko tugged at her wrist, at which point did Ai belatedly realize she was staring. The brown-haired man turned from his histrionic companion, catching her eye, and gave her a smile and friendly wave. Ai returned the gesture, then let herself be led to wherever Keiko had chosen.

They sat at the bar itself, completely empty, where the waiter came out wearing the usual uniform. Ai hadn't known that bars could serve food, but there you go.

After a quick look at the menu, they rattled off an order for cake ("Ai goddammit—") a light cocktail ("Keiko-senpai NO—") and one large plate of nachos between them.

"What is health," Keiko commented, voice flat, holding up one nacho drenched in cheese to point at Ai's chocolate cake-stuffed face.

Customers came and went as they sat, some business men, one of them a blonde woman in pink who sat at the farthest seat at the bar from them. As the door opened, the same brown-haired man from earlier spotted Ai, giving another wave as he and his companion left. He was young, a little older than Ai though, and the way his hair spiked about his face somehow added to his looks than detracted from it.

Ai waved back cheerily, and watched as they climbed into their car and drove off. She refused to look away until she could see their car disappear into the distance.

Ai turned to see Keiko finish the last of the nachos, "What time is it?"

Ai looked at her phone's time, "Almost 11:30. Shall we go?"

The bar closed at 12:30, information helpfully pasted at the doors, and at the back of the bar for patrons to see. For some reason.

Ai stood, stretching, Keiko downed the last dredges of her cocktail, then turned towards the door.

To be stopped by an employee, "Excuse me?"

Ai turned, Keiko paused, and they both saw the man on the elderly side coming out from the back of the bar, one wrinkly finger pointing at the blonde woman on the far stool.

"Can you please take your friend with you? We need to close early today."

Oh boy.

Ai exchanged looks with Keiko. The woman had several empty glasses in front of her, laying down face-first in her arms, blonde hair strewn about from their pigtails.

Ai scratched at her cheek.

Well then.

She approached the blonde, putting a hand gently on her pink-clad shoulder, "Excuse me?"

Bleary, glazed-over eyes looked at her, "…Wha…?"

Oh boy.

"We need to go outside," Ai replied, voice softening. She knew enough to lower her voice, loud noises tended to irritate and cause pain for anyone inebriated, "The bar is closing."

Now, Ai wasn't entirely sure, but she was fairly certain that the blonde muttered out something like "what kind of bar closes before midnight?" and finally stood.

Tried to, anyway. Ai had to scramble towards the blonde to steady her when she almost stumbled to the floor. Keiko appeared to help, and with one cock of her head, Ai looked towards the owner who was slowly growing irate.

She gave the man a friendly wave, then helped heave the blonde outside.

They had her sit down on one of the benches outside, underneath a streetlight colored gold. Ai looked up to see the skies clear, stars twinkling in distant lands, the threat of rain thankfully just as far, for now.

Keiko sat beside the blonde, "Do you want us to call you an uber?"

The blonde shook her head, "Can't…don't have the money…'sides…car…"

Ai blinked, looking around the street. True enough, there was a single car parked along the roads, an old model Ai still wasn't familiar with because she still preferred motorcycles.

The blonde shakily fumbled along her pockets for her keys, presumably, face flushed under the light of the streetlight. Keiko put a stop to that immediately, hand laid on the other woman's wrist, "Oh no, you're not driving when you're like that."

Ai crouched down to level with the blonde, "It's okay, we can cover the cost for you."

The blonde stared at her, eyes wide, her shoulder level.

Then they began to shake.

Ai winced, hands flailing, "What did I say…?"

Keiko gave her a flat, amused stare, but merely kept her silence, placing a single hand on the blonde's shoulder. She hissed between her teeth, eyes shiny, but Ai felt as though she was more…physically sucking in her emotions, rather than the crying spell she expected.

It looked….painful.

"Thank you," was the soft reply, not nearly as slurred.

Then, her eyes closed and she fell against Keiko's shoulder.

"…"

"…"

Well, then.

Damn.

* * *

"Nee-chan," Higura clapped his hands, bringing Ai's attention down to the child. She crouched down to bring herself level to her charge, absently adjusting his cap to fit over his eyes instead of covering them, "When will you be back?"

Oh boy. Ai wasn't quite sure how to handle this, but she decided to just give the boy something she never had as a child (not that she could remember much of that anyway, but still) and gave him the truth, "Just a few days!" she assured, hands coming to rest on his tiny little shoulders, "Not too long, don't worry!"

The wetness in his eyes were blinked away, small fingers rubbing at them, "That's what Tsu-san said last time but he never came back…"

Ah yes, the elusive Tsu-san, the previous caretaker who had made so many mistakes that Ai had to correct each and every one for each and every day that she came to work. She splayed her fingers out, hoping it would make her seem more sincere, "I swear. Nee-chan just needs some time to study, y'know? I'll be right back. Pinky promise? I've never broken a pinky promise before, right?"

Higura stared at her offered ahnd, then slowly held out his own. His pinky was barely half of Ai's and she gently wrapped her finger around his, "…Promise?"

"Promise," she assured, then pet his hair.

He gave her a wobbly smile, and as Ai turned to leave, he gave her a small little wave that had Ai smiling for the rest of the way back to her university.

…Dorms, her university dorms, because she forgot her bag that morning and had to swing back to grab it before going to class. Oh, sure, she could just forgo taking notes entirely, but that seemed a little too sloppy to her.

Putting the key in, Ai wondered if the blonde from last night was still there. She didn't seem very…well. Physically or mentally. When Ai ahd woken up, she went to check on their unexpected guest, and found her so dead to the world that even poking her in the face didn't work.

Class was starting soon, though, so Keiko had resorted to just putting a glass of water on the coffee table and Ai had written a note to let the woman know she could just walk out whenever she was awake.

The door opened with a small creak, revealing a room bathed in afternoon sunlight filtering through the blinds of the windows. Ai's gaze immediately swung to the couch, and found the blanket and pillow neatly tucked to the edge. Crossing the room let Ai see the empty glass, and her note left on top of the blanket and pillow instead of on the coffee table.

The room was neat, nothing was missing that she could notice. Guess she left in the morning, maybe a little after Ai and Keiko had gone to class. Ai sat at the couch, looking around. The quiet was almost relaxing, a peace she almost never stopped to relish. Maybe she could go hiking sometime? Or just going around the forest near the town to wander around a bit.

She shuddered to think what would happen if she went through another burnout breakdown.

The note, folded neatly, called to Ai's attention after she took her bag from her room. Picking it up, Ai flipped it over to see her own familiar scrawl. On the side of the note, however, was a new script she was unfamiliar with.

It said: "Thank you."

Ai smiled.

* * *

"Shirogane," the chief called, voice the _exact_ kind of cheerful that sent chills down her spine, "I'm glad to see you arrive so early."

"…Yes, sir," she answered, because she didn't really know what else to answer to that.

The chief hummed, the jovial smile lines on his face deepening as he scribbled something down on the paper on his desk. Their meeting was swiftly closing down to a finish, having already gone through the formalities that morning. Granted, she was hungover and probably smelled a bit from wearing the same clothes overnight, but she had been cool and calm and most likely everything she had failed to do before her transfer.

The chief gave her cubicle number, her partner's name, and then ushered her out his door. His green tie was the last thing she saw before the door closed.

"There you are," and there he was, too, the person she had been hoping she wouldn't see.

Not that there was anything wrong with her brother, or working together in the same precinct as her brother, but.

Well.

"Yuichi," she greeted, tipping her cap at him. He smiled kindly down at her, and shame burned at her from the pit of her stomach. He couldn't know. Not about last night, or her last case. No, no.

"It's been some time, Miho," and there it was, her name. 'Protected' and she…didn't like it, not for herself, not when she was supposed to be the one who did the goddamn protecting. That was the entire _point_ of her training, and yet…

"Sorry, but I can't talk right now," she murmured, tipping her cap low over her eyes, "I need to go meet my new partner."

"Ah," her brother replied, almost nostalgic, "I see. I'll meet with you later, then."

And he gave her one last pat on the shoulder before leaving. She turned, seeing him stride towards the entrance in easy grace. She could see a young man with wavy, silver hair at a squad car waving him over by the side of the street.

She'd been envious, once.

Stepping into the academy after he had gone felt like she was stepping into shoes that had never been for her, like trying to live up to an image she was never supposed to get. Every action compared to, every thought almost correlated to his shadow.

Miho turned, fingers on her cap, absently wondering if this was going to be like the academy all over again.

* * *

Seven, eight, nine. Maybe twenty two steps before she reached her destination. Her partner was Hibiki, he was a man who made Miho very grateful she liked reading as much as she did or else she'd never be able to understand him, and was very obviously a veteran officer from sheer age alone.

She wasn't sure how to take that.

He was an amiable enough man, if a little silent and cryptic, and when her break came, Miho decided to stroll out before her headache decided to take out half her braincells. Scanning the street, at the buildings across from her, she spotted a nursery, an ice cream parlor, and finally a pharmacy a little ways down the road.

And yes, the squad car coming up the road.

She stifled a sigh.

Sure enough, her brother came out, his partner at the wheel and peering up at her curiously. She refused to meet his eyes, instead fixing her gaze at the pharmacy.

"Go on ahead," she could hear Yuichi tell his partner, and as the squad car drove away, she could feel her brother coming to a stop beside her.

"…So," he started, "Something went wrong, then?"

She grimaced. Sometimes she disliked how astute Yuichi could be.

"Nothing too big," a non-lie, was the way. Minimize everything. Miho crossed the street, and judging by the light footsteps beside her, her brother followed along. A peek at him revealed his gaze wasn't on her, but on the nursery just behind them.

Then, he looked at her.

She winced.

"I won't pry," he said, placing his hands in his pockets, "But if you want to talk about it, I'm willing to listen."

She flinched like he'd just hit her.

Miho looked down, at the sidewalk, at the cracks under her feet, at the dust gathering on her boots.

"…I failed a lot of cases," she said, walking forward. One foot in front of the other. One foot in front of the other. She looked at her boots, at the shine of her shoes, at the laces tied to perfection because she couldn't bear to look at his face, "Transferred me here because they thought that the city would suit my skillset better."

A pebble, a rock, an empty plastic cup. A newspaper, a coupon, a single coin. More and more distance between them and the station.

And Yuichi still wasn't saying anything.

"And I wasn't really surprised, it was a long time coming anyway," she said, even as she began to pick at the threads of her gloves, "I could hear a lot of them gossip with each other about how I'd be let go. But I guess the chief took pity on me. And now I'm here."

She stopped in front of the pharmacy, in front of the large display window. Her reflection stared back at her, with bags heavy under her eyes. Her brother, staring at her with a solemn eye. She almost hated it, how she couldn't tell what he was feeling.

But she could never hold that against him.

She smiled, grit her teeth, bared it at her reflection, "So I did something stupid and went out to get drunk last night, at some bar I found around downtown. I didn't know where I was. I wasn't sure how to get back to my apartment from there."

And finally, a reaction. His eye widened, head swinging to look at her, but Miho refused to look at him even then.

"But," her expression softened, as she caught sight of a brilliant red box in the storefront, "I guess something good came out of it anyway."

Those girls, whoever they were, they'd been the ones who found her and let her stay overnight at their dorm, even thought she was nothing but a drunk stranger at that point.

It had been a long, long time since Miho had gotten to experience that kind of kindness.

"Two girls saved me," she said, finally, and turned to face her brother. His face was caught in an expression between relief, horror and worry, "Let me stay the night at their dormitory."

He opened his mouth, closed it. Miho looked up and bore her gaze straight into his. She had made her decision, she could take the consequences. Even if the disappointment in her brother's gaze would make her stomach churn into itself, she'd take it.

"So, that's what happened."

The wind blew through the streets.

And Yuichi placed a single, gloved hand over her head.

"I'm just glad you're safe," he said, instead, his voice still warm, enough to make Miho's eyes screw shut because goddamn her brother.

"If you're disappointed, you could just say so."

"I'm not. Even though you haven't told me everything, I can tell that it had been building up for a long time. I'm just glad that when you…broke down, someone came by to help you."

Breath in, breath out.

And this was why Miho had only been envious, once, why she would never blame her misfortune on her only family.

She grinned up at him, wryly, refusing to acknowledge how her eyes must have looked, "We better go in, or else the pharmacists are gonna ask us to leave."

He smiled.

After that hop-skip trip to get herself some painkillers – "Get these, they work better on hangovers," he said, at which point Miho had smirked and asked, "How would _you_ know that?" which Yuichi had refused to answer – Miho found herself nibbling on a popsicle from the ice cream parlor, sitting beside a bench just in front of the nursery.

She could spot her brother casting little glances at the nursery, and after several instances of this, and several levels of her curiosity spiking up, she asked, "What is it?"

"Hmm?"

"The nursery," she clarified, "What is it? You've been giving it looks for a little while now."

His lone eye widened a bit, then he shook his head, "I'm just checking on it. A friend of mine works there and I haven't seen her today. She's never missed a day of work, so…"

"You got worried?" Miho supplied, at which point her brother nodded.

"Of course you would," she smiled warmly, "What's she like?"

"My friend?"

"Yeah, tell me about her."

"She's…" he trailed off, and Miho's head cocked to the side, trying to place the expression softening her brother's features as he tugged at his cap. God, they really did have similar ticks, "..She's one of those people you can just _tell_ are good."

"High praise," she commented, smiling, brows raising, "I'd like to meet her sometime."

"I'll introduce you," Yuichi replied, voice warm, "I'm sure you'll be great friends."

* * *

The knock at 7 PM wasn't expected. Ai didn't usually have guests over, and Keiko hadn't told her anything about visitors. It was Saturday, too, so non-students were lurking around the campus all the time.

Keiko, currently passed out on the floor after returning from a particularly grueling session at her part-time job, also couldn't tell her about any changed plans. Ai stepped over her, casually, trying to see if her shirt had any visible stains and decided that it wasn't worth it.

Checking that the chain was firmly in place, she unlocked the door.

"Hello," she was greeted with a warm voice and the crinkle of a gift basket, "My name is Miho. I wanted to thank you for the other night."


	6. Chapter 6

Oh, but are group projects not the bane of every student's existence? Reaching through the lines of age or grades or levels of education, even _beyond such,_ group projects teach not teamwork, but an instilled sense of misanthropy to stretch into the generation of today.

Or, where the dog that drooled over the hardcopy of the report did twice the effort her groupmates had given and _squared._ Ai wasn't bitter about it.

No, no, having videos and transcripts of her work and her work alone had made sure of that. Ai skipped out the lecture room to the sound of dismay behind her and the sweet, sweet song of _justice_ ringing in her ears.

It was a good day.

She wasn't sure if the report would net her that good of a grade but it was better than failing! Good thoughts, _positive_ thoughts – that's the way to go, Ai! She hummed under her breath and started to rummage through her bag to find her phone.

What else, what else? She was done with all the major schoolwork for the week, all that was left was that one quiz tomorrow during her last class, then work the morning after. Sunday being free usually meant she set the whole day aside fully for hibernation, but Ai was feeling restless. Kind of. Ai really just wanted to go out because she felt like she wasn't doing much other than the usual routine.

Which…she was. Hence, why she was breaking it. She'd had enough general psychology classes to know some spicing up was good for her.

Ai flipped through her phone's contacts, eyes reading through names she hadn't contacted in quite a while. Her finger stopped at a new addition, the woman's contact number being set as the selfie they took before she had gone home. Blonde hair framing a quiet, kind smile with Ai's wide grin just beside it.

Miho usually texted in the afternoons, during lunch, which Ai understood. Their conversations usually revolved around 'did you _see_ the dog I found this morning' and 'don't go near the alleys around _that_ street' and 'Ai I want you to know that hearing you curse is like, wrong. For the universe.'

Surprisingly, Miho was nearly incessantly sarcastic in text like she never was in verbal conversations.

Keiko had expressed the exact same sentiment the first time she heard Ai say 'fuck.' Except twice as scandalized in execution.

Ai looked up, saw that she was still in the right hallway to make her way to the dorms, and looked down again. The small calico kitten she found just outside of the university was a good topic, and Ai sent 'Pls tell me not to feed it' along with the picture.

She could almost picture Miho's response. 'You can barely feed yourself.'

"You can barely feed yourself."

"Yeah, that's exactly how she'd sound if she was here," Ai nodded to herself, impressed by the auditory quality of her imagination.

"..."

"…"

Ai sucked in a breath, "Pretend you didn't just hear that, please."

"Okay," Miho said, walking into Ai's line of sight, and because she was not Keiko's level of occasional assholism (in the kindest way possible, she had a bit of a mischief streak if she felt like it), she honored that request with only the ghost of a smirk curling her lips.

"Good afternoon," Ai greeted her instead, brightly, pocketing her phone away, taking in her friend's garb. The usual uniform, but with a pink leather jacket thrown over the white standard issue shirt. It looked cool. Ai told her as much.

Miho's lips bloomed into a full smile, "Thanks. Going back to the dorms?" She shifted in place, hands placing on her hips, and Ai marveled at the quiet confidence she displayed. It was a far cry to their first meeting. She couldn't help but smile wider. Must have been a good day for her, too!

Ai nodded, hands splaying out in front of her, "Yeah. Actually, you know those groupmates I was texting you about?"

"It had a lot of cursing," Miho replied dryly, "So yes."

"Well—"

The crackling of a radio coming to life cut her off, a voice filtering through in a shaky breath. The words were unintelligible, though Ai caught bits and pieces of….poetry. It was beautiful but. Still. Incongruous.

Ai boggled when the static tide eventually turned into eloquently delivered haikus. She caught the words 'essential for the good for our brethren.'

Miho took the radio and started to press a few buttons on the side, "Sorry, Ai, next time," she said, already jogging towards the exit, blonde hair swinging about her face with every step.

Ai waved at her with a smile, the door closing at the end of the hallway with a small click, leaving her alone once again. There was a sense niggling at her from the corner of her mind, quashed only by the need to study for that quiz just one more time so she wouldn't get terribly screwed over.

So, she hummed, turning, making her way towards the dorm once again. She wondered when she'd be able to see her again.

* * *

Soon, apparently.

"Ai," Miho said in lieu of an actual greeting, which Ai couldn't blame her for, "What are you _doing_?"

"Grocery shopping," Ai answered, ignoring the odd looks the elderly women were also throwing in her direction. So it was midnight, and she was only stocking up on cup noodles and canned goods. So what? Totally normal. Nothing to see here. _nope_.

"What are _you_ doing?" Ai lobbied back, at which point Miho actually grimaced to herself. One look and Ai saw that she, too, was only stocking up on cheap foodstuff

"I have the night shift," Miho defended, causing Ai to grin wryly. She turned her attention back to rack, the endless rows of canned goods (read: the only slow-perishables that she and Keiko could afford), taking one large can of sardines to toss into her basket. She side-eyed Miho with a light grin, "Okay."

Miho huffed, shifting the basket from one hand to another, letting Ai spot the two foldable umbrellas in at the side, buried by the cups. Her head tilted to the side.

"My brother's with me, if that's what you're asking," Miho answered absently, browsing beside her.

Interesting, Miho hadn't mentioned a brother, or any siblings at all actually. Much like she didn't mention a lot of things. Like her surname, for example. Ai suspected a deep and long story behind that one, so she hadn't ever pried.

"How's university?" Miho asked, and so went that chance for Ai to ask about her brother. Damn. She couldn't figure out if the move was intentional or not.

Either way, it didn't stop her from chattering. Maybe Miho's brother was just bad with strangers or something, Ai wasn't about to push. Miho would tell her if and when she was ready.

And, much like last time, they were interrupted by the sound of a call. Miho's features faintly crossed into the realm of 'annoyed', before smoothing out her as she looked at her phone's screen. The caller ID must have been someone important, because Miho's face melted into a more…grave. Lips pressed together, eyes slowly glinting harder under the stark light of fluorescent bulbs.

She paused, one foot already stepping away, but Ai waved her off, "It's okay, I needed to go anyway. See you later."

Ai saluted her. Miho chuckled, waving, before she jogged to an end of the market. She could faintly hear her conversing with someone else, and then she dashed outside, without a basket on her arm, her phone already pressed to one ear. She disappeared around the corner, just as Ai made her way to the check-out. Lines were scarce at this time of night, so she made her way to the endmost lane, nearest the exit that would take her to where Ai had parked the motorcycle Keiko had lent her.

She quietly counted out the items in her basket, trying to make sure she had everything they'd need for the week, and looked up—

"Oh, long time no see."

And nearly choked on her next breath.

Silver hair and eyelashes, framing the single eye looking down at her with a gentle light. Ai found herself gaping up at him, because really, what were the _chances_?

"Good evening," she greeted back instead, shaking her head to _get a grip Ai._ She smiled up at him, afterwards, one hand running through her hair to fix it. She wasn't going to question it. Luck was luck, and this was the good kind. She hadn't seen him in _days_.

"On a grocery run too?" she asked cheekily, because yes, that basket was a near perfect mirror of hers with the scant few vegetables thrown in. He half-smiled, lips quirking lopsidedly. The clicks of the person in front of her seemed to slow, and Ai shifted in place.

"Same as you, then," he answered.

"How have you been?" she asked. It had been some time since the last time they'd managed to just…sit down and talk. Sometimes time between their meetings stretched across days to weeks and each time Ai felt herself wanting for conversation. But, well, jobs. School. Couldn't ask for more, he had other things to worry about, after all. And so did she.

He hummed.

Ai huffed at him, "Oh come on, that wasn't an answer."

"It hasn't been too eventful," he told her, "I might bore you."

"You won't," she assured him, "tell me more. What was your day like? Like you said, it's been a damn long time."

He jerked back, mouth falling open a few degrees.

Ai laughed at his face.

"Is it really so surprising that I can curse?"

He blinked, then shook his head, shoulders rising faintly, "No. Well, yes. It's not _bad._ It's just…unexpected."

She giggled into her hands, "But cursing is so _fucking_ fun, sometimes."

She laughed outright when his expression morphed into complete scandalous shock. Like someone slapped him across the face with a rubber chicken and told him he smelled like fish.

Of course, the longer she laughed, the more it melted into exasperated humor, his hand coming up to cover his mouth. When he tugged at his cap, Ai finally stopped, looking up to see an expression she'd never seen on his face before. It made her pause, wondering, wondering.

"Yes?" he asked dryly, making her bite back a chuckle. She threw her gaze over his shoulder, where the two people in front of them were still checking out. They had time, then.

"You didn't answer my questions, earlier," she reminded him brightly. She watched as he, too, turned to look to see if they had time. Seeing that they did, he turned back to her and started telling her about dull days in a low, smooth voice. About small things, endless paperwork, his eccentric boss, Haruki being…Haruki. She lost herself from time, listening to words weaved in silk.

He told her about his and Haruki's patrols, sometimes helping old ladies cross the street or helping boy scouts with directions. He told her about older days, his first week at his job, aimless little bright things.

They gave her pieces, small but real, to build a more complete image of him in her mind, built from silken words and warmth of halcyon days. They were solid, rooted in meetings instead of the faint impressions from random moments of bumping into each other. She loved them, these little stories.

She wished they could do it more often.

"We could," he said, and yes, she said that out loud. Heat burned across her face.

The smile quirking his lips was mostly fond, as far as she could tell.

"I wouldn't want to be a bother," she said, one hand tugging at her errant strand, "Plus our schedules are a little…busy."

He tipped his head forward, probably in concession. She scratched at her hair, lips twisting. He was one of the few friends she didn't actually know very much, and, well, short of scheduling meetings that would be shaky at best, they didn't have much in the way of communicating. Too ad that they couldn't text each other—

Oh god, she was an idiot.

Ai snapped her fingers, bringing his attention to her, "I have an idea."

She took her phone out, making quick work of the pattern, and gave the device with bright eyes, "I can't believe we didn't do this sooner!"

"Ma'am."

"You're right," he muttered to himself, amusement coating it with warmth, "Hold on, let me get my phone out."

"Sir."

"And there we go!" Ai finished with flourish, handing him his phone back just as she took hers back, "Nice and quick."

"Not really," the cashier, who's attempts were probably vast and largely exasperated, finally had Ai and Shirogane turning to look at him. The cashier raised his brows in response. Ai sheepishly grinned back.

Shirogane immediately laid his basket's contents on the counter, making quick work of the entire affair. Probably out of guilt. Ai could relate. The stare the man behind her was giving her – of which when he even got there she wasn't sure of – was giving her goosebumps.

He took the bags, hauling them into his arms, "Goodbye," he said to her, expression a cross between wry and warm.

She chuckled, laying her own things out on the counter to let the cashier do his thing, "Goodbye," she waved at him, and he tipped his hat at her with a smile, before walking off.

She stared at his back as he left. As he reached the door, he turned just a bit, "Ms. Ai."

She blinked at him.

"Stay safe," he murmured, tugging at his hat, "Okay?"

 _Something is going wrong._ Echoing, in that small chasm between them, the lines between 'protector' and 'protected' blazing bright enough to blind her. She…had forgotten it was there.

And just like that, the warmth of small stories and Haruki and paperwork left Ai in a single gust of wind. She nodded. She waved as he left, for real this time.

Paperwork, eccentric bosses, Haruki and all the other little stories he'd weaved with a silken voice and kind eyes and she wondered—

How much of it covered the rest of his days, if it was enough to take care of him when the paperwork dwindled because he was outside, instead, on the field where he was tasked to face the worst. A nice, bright lining to keep the darkest parts of his life under wraps…and away from her.

Something in her chest ached at the thought.

"…Nice," the man behind her said, voice jovial and still catching her completely by surprise. Ai jumped where she stood, making even the exasperated cashier's face to melt into a smirk. She turned to face the man, and was met with brown hair spiking about a handsome, vaguely familiar face.

"What do you mean?" she asked, curiously.

The man's grin widened, dimples showing prettily, "Gotta say, that was a pretty smooth way to get a number. Ergo, _nice._ "

Ai gaped. The cashier bit back another snicker.

"I wasn't – we're _friends._ "

"Is _that_ how they call it these days?" he drawled.

The cashier laughed outright.

" _Oh_ _my_ _god_."

The man chuckled, one hand raising in a placating gesture, "Sorry, sorry. Just couldn't resist the opportunity, y'know?"

Ai huffed, trying – and failing, spectacularly – to hide her own amusement. A memory of bars and blonde hair and well-lit rooms bit at the tip of her thoughts. It took her a bit, but she could place where she'd seen his face before, now.

"So, what, you thought that making fun of me was a good way to start a conversation?" she asked, turning back to the cashier. He already had her things arranged and put in two bags. The man shrugged, the movement near minute in Ai's peripheral vision.

"Maybe," and yes, that was a rather sharp canine in his teeth. Ai shook her head. She hadn't taken him as the jokester type.

"That's how you get the _best_ people, so I've been told." he drawled.

"Whoever gave you that advice is terrible, I just want you to know." she grinned.

The man laughed, and shifted his basket over to his other arm to give her a hand, "Name's Kosuke Yoshimitsu. We met at the bar, I'm pretty sure."

* * *

After, somehow, getting herself two numbers – at which point Mr "Please call me Kosuke I don't really like all that formal stuff much" Kosuke had input her caller ID as 'smooth criminal' – Ai made her way back to the dorms. The guards were at the gates, as per usual, checking her bags. So did the guard at the dorm's entrance which, while not that _uncommon_ , wasn't really the status quo. They were usually doing…something else at this point. What, Ai didn't know, but wasn't inclined to go and find out, really. A quick trip to the stairwell had her back in the nick of time, calling out "I'm back" as she closed the door behind her.

"Welcome back," Keiko answered, walking out the bedroom, one hand holding her phone, "You took your time."

Ai shrugged, "I ran into a friend."

"And here I thought you just got lost."

"Your lack of faith in me is really hurtful, senpai," Ai laughed, setting the bags down on the table.

Keiko smirked in response, sitting down beside her and placing her phone beside the bags. Ai spotted the article – 'string of robberies in the area' – and frowned.

 _("Stay safe.")_

"Senpai, can I look at your phone for a second?"

Keiko's brows furrowed, but handed over her phone.

Ai read, the words disjointed at the speed of her eyes skimming over the words.

It said, "Robberies in the area scaling up in speed, health professionals victims to—"

It said, "Clinics, pharmacies, prescription drugs and –"

It said, "No leads as of yet—"

And Ai put the phone down, brows furrowed.

"When did this start?" she asked.

Keiko shrugged, "Around two days ago? It didn't really hit the big screen until this late afternoon. Like, four hours ago. Apparently the school clinic got hit."

* * *

"Good morning!"

"Good morning."

"Thanks for last time."

"?"

"I got the news about the whole…thing."

"Ah."

"I thought you already knew. I'm sorry if I scared you or anything."

"No, it's okay."

"I thought it was sweet."

"So, thank you."

* * *

"Yuichi? On his phone? _Texting?_ " Haruki gasped, making his partner roll his eyes, even though his reaction was _totally warranted._ It wasn't like Yuichi actually did it…at all. Not even seldom, just _at all._ He even preferred calling when he had to use his phone, which made him a real son of a bitch in Haruki's eyes because goddammit calling was just not up to his speed.

"What inspired _this_?" Miho asked from the back of the car, and Haruki fixed his partner a smug look because _hah._ See? He was totally valid in his reactions.

"Watch the road," Yuichi replied, instead, turning back to his phone when it ping'ed.

Miho leaned forward, probably to try and get a look-see at Yuichi's screen. He promptly blocked it from the both of them with a hand. She scrunched her nose at him.

Haruki scoffed, "The engine isn't even running."

Without looking up from his phone, Yuichi leaned over to turn the car keys.

Haruki made a noise so offended that Miho laughed at his face.

"Watch the road," Yuichi repeated, instead, a ghost of a smile quirking his lips. Haruki huffed at him, pulling into the road.

"This conversation isn't done, you hear me, partner?"

"You'll never get anything out of him like that, Haruki," Miho drawled from the backseat, "It's been like this since we were kids."

"Tell me, then, oh wise one, how to get anything form that tight-lipped brother of yours?"

"Oh that's easy," Miho grinned, then turned to Yucihi. Politely, she inquired, "Who're texting?"

"My friend from the nursery," Yuichi replied easily.

Haruki squawked.

Miho smirked at him, her entire _face_ basically conveying 'get on my level' before turning back to her brother.

"You don't usually text anybody, what gives?" she asked curiously.

Yuichi smiled at his phone, the expression so _warm_ that it sent Haruki gaping, his sister's brows shooting to her hairline. He sent one last text before pocketing his phone.

"We don't get a lot of chances to meet each other, so we exchanged numbers," he gave easily, leaning back in his seat, "She's busy, so I don't want to accidentally call her in the middle of something, and it's easy to talk to her. She's a good friend. That's it."

"You sure?" Haruki asked, squinting at him sideways.

Yuichi's brows furrowed, "What do you mean?"

"…You know what?" Miho supplied, one hand resting on Yuichi's shoulder form the backseat, "Whenever this gets into the thing it's obviously getting to, we're here to help."

"Hear, hear," Haruki cheered, laughing.

Yuichi was looking at the both of them with a puzzled expression, but that was alright. That was alright, Haruki thought, because he'd get it eventually.

* * *

NOTES, FROM THE OLDE YONDER:

 _The names were derived from their codenames, yeah, as seen in the tags but also. I do have other reasons for naming the cells as I did._

 _Yuichi – 'excellence, superiority, and gentleness' combined with 'one' for the given name and Shirogane – is really just 'white metal,' or to be simply put 'silver', pretty self-explanatory as to why I chose this_

 _Ai – 'love, affection,' commonly associated with red for the given name, and Akagawa – meaning 'red river,' a reference of sorts to the phrase 'river of life' that describes blood_

 _Keiko – 'respect', because, well, she's a senpai combined with 'child' for the given name and Yoshida – 'lucky field' which, okay, was chosen less because of meanings but more because I really liked how common it was and I thought it befitting for a side-side character in the manga._

 _I guess I could include the other names some other time._

 _As always, leave a kudos and a comment if you like! Thanks for reading! :D_

 _[...i wrote this entire thing thrice before i could stomach to post it lmao]_


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